What is the NIST Cybersecurity
Framework?

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) consists of voluntary guidelines and standards to manage cybersecurity risks across an entire organization or its critical infrastructures. It offers a flexible, repeatable, cost-effective approach towards managing cybersecurity risks.

The framework was originally imagined as a cybersecurity risk management system for the critical infrastructures of the United States. Today, it has been widely implemented in the private and public sectors, across organizational departments, and around the globe.

NIST Cybersecurity Framework Guide

ManageEngine's guide to implementing the NIST Cybersecurity Framework

anageEngine's guide to implementing the NIST Cybersecurity

Download the guide

Why do you need to implement the NIST CSF?

  • Strengthen your cybersecurity posture

    Strengthen your cybersecurity posture

    Examine your current security posture and prioritize opportunities to strengthen it.

  • Understand organizational risks

    Understand organizational risks

    Assess risks objectively and formulate an action plan to bring them within your risk tolerance level.

  • Comply with global standards

    Comply with global standards

    Comply with other existing global standards and mandates easily.

  • Maximize your ROI

    Maximize your ROI

    Focus on critical service delivery components to make the implementation process cost-effective.

  • Communicate effectively

    Communicate effectively

    Use the framework's common language to convey cybersecurity risks and requirements to all stakeholders.

  • Expand the scope of risk management

    Expand the scope of risk management

    Ensure the products and services from your partners meet critical security goals.

Components of the framework

NISTCybersecurityFramework
  • The framework core
  • Framework implementation tiers
  • The framework profile

The framework core

The framework core

The framework core consists of key risk management activities that help organizations realize cybersecurity outcomes that align with their business objectives and priorities.

The core is comprised of six functions: govern, identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover. It offers a holistic strategy for understanding potential security threats, mitigating their impacts, and recovering with minimal business disruptions.

The functions are not meant to be a serial path towards a desired state. They outline a set of actions that can be performed concurrently and continuously to develop an organizational culture that addresses emerging cybersecurity risks.

Framework implementation tiers

Framework implementation tiers

The implementation tiers help organizations describe how sophisticated their cybersecurity management program is. The tiers can serve as an internal benchmark to standardize an organization-wide cybersecurity approach.

The tiers are not maturity levels. Organizations should move towards a higher tier when they have the resources and budget to reduce their cybersecurity risks.

  • Tier 1: Partial

    Irregular, reactive risk management practices with limited awareness of cybersecurity risks

  • Tier 2: Risk informed

    Some awareness of cybersecurity risks but a limited establishment of a risk management program at the organization level

  • Tier 3: Repeatable

    A consistent cybersecurity risk management program across the organization with processes to respond based on changes in the threat landscape

  • Tier 4: Adaptive

    An advanced response system capable of effectively improving the risk management program based on previous incidents and predictive indicators

The framework profile

The framework profile

The framework profile helps organizations understand their current cybersecurity posture in terms of the outcomes described in the framework. After assessing their current profile, organizations can develop their target profile by selecting key outcomes outlined under the framework functions based on their business goals, risk tolerance, and resources.

By creating a current profile and comparing it with the target profile, organizations can identify opportunities to improve their cybersecurity program. Based on the priority and estimated cost of the corrective efforts, organizations can plan for cybersecurity improvement measures.

How can ManageEngine help you implement the NIST CSF?

While the NIST CSF consists of both technical and non-technical controls for managing cybersecurity risks,
we will help you implement the technical aspects of it.

Govern

  • Organizational context
  • Risk management strategy
  • Roles, responsibilities, and authorities
  • Policies
  • Oversight
  • Cybersecurity supply chain risk management

Organizational context

Understand and manage the mission of the cybersecurity program, legal requirements, and stakeholder expectations.

How ManageEngine can help you

Risk management strategy

Establish and communicate the organization's priorities, risk tolerance, and assumptions in terms of its risk management.

Roles, responsibilities, and authorities

Establish cybersecurity roles, responsibilities, and authorities to foster accountability and streamline processes.

How ManageEngine can help you

Policies

Establish and communicate policies for managing the organization's cybersecurity.

Oversight

Review the outcomes of the cybersecurity risk management program and adjust the strategy if required.

How ManageEngine can help you

Cybersecurity supply chain risk management

Identify and establish cybersecurity risk management practices to manage risks associated with your supply chains.

How ManageEngine can help you

Identify

  • Asset management
  • Risk assessments
  • Improvement

Protect

  • Identity management, authentication, and access controls
  • Awareness and training
  • Data security
  • Platform security
  • Technology infrastructure resilience

Awareness and training

Establish awareness and training programs to help your personnel perform their cybersecurity duties properly.

Detect

  • Continuous monitoring
  • Adverse event analysis

Respond

  • Incident management
  • Incident analysis
  • Incident response reporting and communications
  • Incident mitigation

Incident response reporting and communications

Recover

  • Incident recovery plan execution
  • Incident recovery communication

Get guidance on implementing the NIST CSF

Download our guide to take a closer look at
how your organization can implement the NIST CSF.

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Disclaimer:

The complete implementation of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework requires a variety of solutions, processes, people, and technologies. The solutions mentioned above are some of the ways in which IT management tools can help with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework implementation. Coupled with other appropriate solutions, processes, and people, ManageEngine's solutions help comply with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. This material is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as legal advice for NIST Cybersecurity Framework implementation. ManageEngine makes no warranties, express, implied, or statutory, as to the information in this material.

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